Polestar Foods appoints administrators, FRP Advisory LLP

PoleStar Foods Limited and Okehampton Desserts Limited, the Okehampton based suppliers of own-label desserts and Heinz branded products, entered into administration on 4 February 2011 with the appointment of Joint Administrators, Phil Armstrong and Nick O’Reilly, partners at specialist restructuring, recovery and insolvency firm, FRP Advisory.

PoleStar Foods Limited and Okehampton Desserts Limited were acquired by Privet Capital in November last year,when the Companies were facing imminent collapse.

Commenting on the administration, Phil Armstrong said: “PoleStar Foods and Okehampton Desserts have been in difficulties since their formation in December 2009 and, indeed, the Companies were struggling under their previous ownership. Unfortunately, the restructuring of the business was not sufficient to ultimately solve the Companies’ cashflowproblems.

“The Companies unfortunately did not represent a viable purchase as a going-concern. The Directors, therefore, sadly had to make 232 employees at the Okehampton site redundant on Tuesday, 1 February, prior to our appointment. Our employee specialists, together with a local Job Centre team, will be on-site this week to advise all staff members on their best route back into employment and assist with their claims from the Redundancy Payments Office.

“We are now working towards an outcome where a buyer can be found for the operation, in the hope that some staff can be re-employed under new ownership.”

Interested parties regarding the sale of the business should contact Anthony Simmons and Steve Beattie, FRP Advisory, on +44(0)203 005 4000.

About FRP Advisory

FRP Advisory LLP is focused on creating, preserving and recovering value for its clients.

The firm offers a comprehensive suite of services to the mid-market and financial community. These focus on enhancing the performance of businesses, as well as saving businesses in distress.

With 28 partners and 200 staff, FRP Advisory is one of the largest restructuring, recovery and insolvency firms in the UK, operating out of 9 regions including: East Midlands, Eastern Region, Kent, London, North East, North West, St Albans, Sussex and West Midlands.